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610 Loop accidents in Houston: crash data by year (2018–2024)

Official City of Houston and NHTSA crash counts for the 610 Loop (I-610) by year, the fatal share of serious crashes, the county-wide FARS count and how to get a crash report.

11 min readPublished October 30, 2026Last updated October 30, 2026Edited by Joseph Budzinski, CTO, InjuryClaimGuide

The short answer

In official City of Houston crash data, the 610 Loop (I-610) had 656 crashes from 2018 to 2023 in which someone was killed or seriously injured, the second-highest count of any street in that data after I-45. A smaller share of them were fatal than on Houston streets as a whole: 93, about 14%, against about 17%. Federal FARS data counts between 14 and 19 fatal crashes a year on I-610 in Harris County from 2019 to 2024, and about 95% of them were inside the City of Houston.

This page goes further than our guide to Houston's highest-injury roads: it gives the Loop's counts of people killed and seriously injured by year, the share of serious crashes that were fatal, the county-wide picture year by year, and what the records say about which side of the Loop crashes were on. It is general information about public data, not legal advice, and it says nothing about any particular crash.

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Key facts (data as of 2026-10-30)

  • Data sources. The City of Houston's Vision Zero layer of traffic deaths and serious injuries, January 2018 to May 2024 (from TxDOT's crash records system, CRIS), and NHTSA's Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for Harris County, 2019 to 2024. See Vision Zero Houston and NHTSA FARS.
  • Checked. We downloaded the City layer and the FARS files again on 2026-10-30 and rebuilt the counts. The City layer was last edited on 2024-08-21, and NHTSA had not yet posted its 2025 FARS file.
  • The road. TxDOT's designation file describes I-610 as a loop that runs around the city of Houston, starting and ending at I-10 in the eastern part of the city (TxDOT, IH 610). Crash records name its sides the North, South, East and West Loop.
  • 2018 to 2023, City data. 656 KSI crashes on the 610 Loop (crashes in which someone was killed or suspected seriously injured), 93 of them fatal; 96 people killed and 661 seriously injured. That is about 7% of the 9,528 KSI crashes on all streets in the dataset, and about 6% of its 1,621 fatal crashes.
  • Fatal share. About 14% of the Loop's KSI crashes were fatal, against about 17% on all streets in the same data.
  • 2019 to 2024, FARS. 99 fatal crashes on I-610 in Harris County, in which 102 people died; 94 of those crashes (about 95%) were recorded inside the City of Houston.
  • Download the numbers. houston-corridor-crashes-2018-2024.csv has every count on this page by road, source and year, and houston-intersections-serious-crashes-2021-2023.csv has the intersection row.
  • Data credit. NHTSA FARS data is a work of the U.S. government and is not under copyright (17 U.S.C. §105). The City of Houston layer is public data published by the City of Houston Planning & Development Department from TxDOT CRIS records; the City does not state a license for it. Please credit "City of Houston Vision Zero (TxDOT CRIS)" and "NHTSA FARS".
  • How to cite. InjuryClaimGuide, "610 Loop accidents in Houston: crash data by year (2018–2024)", data as of 2026-10-30, from City of Houston Vision Zero (TxDOT CRIS) and NHTSA FARS data, https://getinjuryclaimguide.com/learning/houston-610-loop-crash-data
  • Reuse. Our tables and CSV files are licensed CC BY 4.0, which covers only InjuryClaimGuide's own work in compiling them. The counts come from public records, and the source data keep their own terms (see "Data credit"). These figures are InjuryClaimGuide's analysis; the City of Houston, TxDOT and NHTSA did not produce or review them.

How many serious crashes happened on the 610 Loop each year?

City of Houston data, crashes in and near the city. A crash is counted once, however many people were hurt; a crash is fatal if anyone died.

YearKSI crashesFatal crashesSerious-injury crashesPeople killedPeople seriously injuredShare of KSI crashes that were fatal
20188297398511%
2019941579179416%
2020119151041512313%
202111719981911316%
2022124161081612613%
2023120191012012016%
202432 (Jan–May only)11 (Jan–May only)21 (Jan–May only)11 (Jan–May only)24 (Jan–May only)34% (Jan–May only)

From 2018 to 2023, the Loop had between 82 and 124 KSI crashes a year, with the highest count in 2022. The count rose from 82 in 2018 to between 117 and 124 in each year from 2020 to 2023. The number of people killed in a single year ranged from 9 to 20.

What share of the 610 Loop's serious crashes were fatal?

Of the Loop's 656 KSI crashes from 2018 to 2023, 93 were fatal: about 14%. On all streets in the City data for the same years, 1,621 of 9,528 KSI crashes were fatal: about 17%. By year, the Loop's share ranged from 11% (2018) to 16% (2019, 2021 and 2023).

What this can say: in the City data, a somewhat smaller share of the Loop's serious crashes ended in a death than across Houston streets as a whole, in every full year from 2018 to 2023. What it can't say: why. The data has no traffic volumes or speeds, and this study does not use the officers' contributing-factor fields, so it cannot say why. The 2024 figures cover only January to May: 11 of 32 KSI crashes were fatal, but five months of data are too few to set beside a full year.

How many fatal crashes did FARS count on the 610 Loop county-wide?

NHTSA's FARS covers every fatal crash in Harris County, inside and outside the City of Houston, and counts a death if it happened within 30 days of the crash.

YearFatal crashes, Harris CountyPeople killed, Harris CountyFatal crashes inside the City of HoustonShare inside the city
2019141614100%
202014141286%
202119191895%
202217171694%
2023192019100%
202416161594%

From 2019 to 2024, FARS counts 99 fatal crashes on I-610 in Harris County, about 3% of the 2,979 fatal crashes on all roads in the county. 94 of those crashes (about 95%) were recorded inside the City of Houston, far more than the share for all Harris County roads (1,723 of 2,979, about 58%). Because nearly all of the Loop's fatal crashes were recorded inside the city, the City and FARS counts cover nearly the same road here.

Where on the 610 Loop do the serious crashes happen?

The data can only partly answer this.

At intersections. Our intersection study groups City KSI crashes from 2021 to 2023 that happened within about 250 feet (76 metres) of the same spot. Of the 17 Houston locations with at least 5 KSI crashes, one is on the Loop, on the South Loop:

Rank among the 17LocationKSI crashes, 2021–2023Fatal crashesPeople killedPeople seriously injuredKSI crashes by year (2021 / 2022 / 2023)
8I-610 at Martin Luther King Blvd50064 / 1 / 0

A location like this one can include crashes on the frontage roads and at the cross street, so its crashes are not all part of the Loop counts above.

In how the road was recorded. FARS records the road name the way the reporting officer wrote it. Of the 99 fatal crashes on I-610 in Harris County from 2019 to 2024:

  • 20 were recorded with "North Loop" in the road name, 8 with "South Loop", 3 with "East Loop" and 4 with "West Loop";
  • the other 64 were recorded only as I-610 (or with another name, such as a crossing freeway), so they cannot be placed on one side of the Loop;
  • 10 were recorded on a ramp; and
  • 8 were recorded on a frontage or service road.

The City data is less specific: it records 685 of its 688 I-610 KSI crashes from January 2018 to May 2024 simply as "IH0610", without a side, lane or ramp. So neither source can say which side of the Loop had the most serious crashes.

How were these numbers built, and what can't they tell you?

The method is the same as in our guide to Houston's highest-injury roads, which explains it in full:

  • Every name the Loop goes by. I-610, IH0610, Loop 610 and the North, South, East and West Loop names are all counted, including crashes on frontage roads, which crash records file under the freeway's name.
  • Main street only. A crash at a cross street counts toward the Loop only if the report lists I-610 as the main street, so the counts are conservative. A crash at an interchange recorded under the other freeway's name counts toward that freeway, not the Loop.
  • Two sources, two scopes. The City data covers crashes in and near Houston. FARS covers the whole county but only fatal crashes.
  • Counts, not rates. The numbers are not adjusted for traffic volume or road length, so they do not show the risk of any single trip.
  • Not every crash. Only crashes with a death or suspected serious injury are in the public City layer. The City data ends in May 2024, and NHTSA can revise its most recent FARS file.
  • No causes or fault. The counts do not say why any crash happened or who was responsible.

Nothing in the data or on this page identifies any person; it contains counts only.

Where can I get the crash report for a crash on the 610 Loop?

A Texas Peace Officer's Crash Report (form CR-3) is written by the law enforcement agency that investigated the crash. Texas law requires an officer who investigates a crash that caused an injury or a death, or apparent damage to one person's property at or above the amount the statute sets, to make a written report and file it electronically with TxDOT not later than the tenth day after the crash (Tex. Transp. Code §550.062). Which agency that was depends on where the crash happened and who responded.

The counts on this page come from crash reports like these, but they are totals only: nothing here points to a particular crash or a particular report.

What does Texas law require of drivers after a crash on the 610 Loop?

The collisions chapter of the Texas Transportation Code, starting at §550.021, sets a driver's duties after a crash, on a freeway or on any other road. In general terms:

  • Stop and check. The driver of a vehicle in a crash that results, or is reasonably likely to result, in injury to or death of a person must immediately stop at the scene or as close to it as possible, determine whether anyone involved needs aid, and remain until the information duties below are met. The stop is to be made without obstructing traffic more than is necessary (§550.021).
  • Give information and aid. After a crash that injures or kills someone or damages a vehicle that is driven or attended by a person, the driver must give their name and address, the vehicle's registration number and the name of their liability insurer, show a driver's license if asked and if it is available, and give reasonable assistance to anyone injured (§550.023).
  • Report it. After a crash that injures or kills someone, or damages a vehicle so that it cannot be normally and safely driven, the driver must immediately notify the local police department if the crash happened in a city, or otherwise the sheriff's office or another office the statute names (§550.026(a)).

Our reference entry on a driver's duties after a crash quotes these sections, and the Texas car crash law reference collects the other statutes that come up after a crash. This is general information about what the statute says, not advice about any crash.

Related Houston information

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Frequently asked questions

How many fatal crashes happen on the 610 Loop each year?
Federal FARS data counts between 14 and 19 fatal crashes a year on I-610 in Harris County from 2019 to 2024. The City of Houston's dataset, which covers crashes in and near the city, counts between 9 and 19 fatal crashes a year on the Loop from 2018 to 2023.
What share of serious crashes on the 610 Loop were fatal?
In the City of Houston data for 2018 to 2023, 93 of the Loop's 656 crashes that killed or seriously injured someone were fatal, about 14%. Across all Houston streets in the same data the share was about 17% (1,621 of 9,528).
Which part of the 610 Loop has the most fatal crashes?
The records cannot say for most crashes. Of the 99 fatal crashes FARS counts on I-610 in Harris County from 2019 to 2024, 20 were recorded with "North Loop" in the road name, 8 with "South Loop", 3 with "East Loop" and 4 with "West Loop"; the other 64 were recorded only as I-610 or with another name, so they cannot be placed on one side of the Loop.
Where can I get the police report for a crash on the 610 Loop?
The report is written by the agency that investigated the crash and filed with TxDOT. Texas crash reports (form CR-3) can be bought online through TxDOT's Crash Records Information System. Our guide to getting a crash report in Houston explains who may obtain one and how Houston-area agencies handle requests.
Do these counts show the risk of driving on the 610 Loop?
No. They are counts of crashes, not rates. The data is not adjusted for traffic volume or road length, so a busy road can have more crashes without being riskier for any one trip, and the counts do not say why any crash happened.
Who can get the full crash report for a crash on the 610 Loop?
Texas Transportation Code §550.065 releases the full report, on written request and payment of the fee, to the people it lists, such as a person involved in the crash, that person's authorized representative, the owner of a damaged vehicle and the insurers involved. Any person may request a redacted version that leaves out names, addresses, phone numbers and other personal items.
How current is this data?
The City of Houston layer covers January 2018 to May 2024 and had not been edited since August 2024 when we checked. FARS covers 2019 to 2024; NHTSA had not posted a 2025 file. We downloaded both sources again on 2026-10-30 and rebuilt the counts from them.

Sources

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